St John’s Church were approached just before the school summer holidays by a group of volunteers who run the Halesowen uniform exchange to see if the church could host their annual Uniform Exchange this year, after their usual venue had become unavailable at short notice.
Claire Biggs from St John's commented:
“God moves in very mysterious ways.........when we were asked to host the Halesowen uniform exchange this year, we jumped at the chance, not quite sure what we had let ourselves in for (and it honestly looked like a jumble sale at one point) but before long we were welcoming families through our doors who had never been in our building before. It became a real mission opportunity for connecting and conversing with our local families and inviting them to church activities. While the families were here, they also explored and enjoyed the sanctuary and peace of our beautiful building, visited the cafe, or signed-up to receive details of future events."
Over the summer, the exchange (run by separate volunteers to the church) welcomed 192 families either donating items for local schools or making use of pre-loved uniform.
Claire added:
“Even our local MP Alex Ballinger came in to support too. The Uniform Exchange has been such a humbling experience for the church, and all involved.”
